Open Heart
by SarahSchmabulous
Summary: Set after the 100th episode. They finally reach the milestone everyone's been waiting for. But Brennan's reaction sends her running, just like everyone knew she would.
1. Chapter 1

_**Nope, I sure don't own Bones. Fox does. **_

**Btw, the first part of this convo is ripped right from the 100th episode. A little ways into the convo though, I change it to make it my own. **

"No. No! Y-you thought you were protecting me, but _you're_ the one that needs protecting." Brennan stuttered in shock.

"Protecting? Protecting from what?" Booth replied.

Brennan couldn't hide her anguish. "From me. I... I don't have your kind of open heart." She said as she began to cry.

"Just, just give it a chance. That's all I'm asking..." Booth pleaded.

"No; You said it yourself: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome." Brennan sped up her words in a vain attempt to stop her tears.

"Well then let's go for a different outcome here, okay? Just hear me out. You know when you talk to older couples who have been in love for thirty... or forty, or _fifty_ years, all right? It's always the _guy_ who says 'I knew.' ... I knew. Right from the beginning." Booth practically begged as his chocolate eyes turned black.

There was a slight pause between them as Brennan contemplated in her head. "Your evidence is anecdotal." She concluded.

"I'm that guy. Bones, I'm that guy. I _know_." Brennan's heart broke at the sound in his voice. It was pleading, begging her to agree with him, to give it a shot.

"I ... I am _not _a gambler. I am a scientist. I _can't_ change; I don't know how.... I don't know how-" Brennan broke off her sentence as she felt more tears spill from her eyes.

A look of sheer defeat came across Booth's face as her rejection set into him.

"Please, don't look so sad." Brennan begged.

Booth shook his head and walked over to a concrete wall and sat down slowly. He stared into Brennan's eyes for what seemed like eternity before he spoke again.

"That could have been us Bones. That old couple forty or fifty years from now... that could have been us." Booth said quietly.

Brennan had to stifle a sob as the tears came rolling down her cheeks. "Booth... you deserve somebody who _can_ love you forty or fifty years from now. I... I just _don't know how_."

"I know." Booth replied as he stared at the ground.

A long silence filled the space between them for what could have been hours, but was really only minutes. It was Brennan that broke the silence.

"I can't Booth. I... can't do this to you. I'm so sorry." She spoke barely above a whisper now. Booth looked at her as she filled the space between them and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "I wish I knew how to open my heart up to you, Seeley." She whispered in his ear. Booth stared into her oceanic eyes as she pulled away. He reached for her hand to pull her back, but she only shook her head and turned and walked away, into the night.

And just like that, she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer on first chapter.

When you first walked into her apartment, everything looked exactly the same, like she had only been there yesterday. But such was not the case. It had been three months since Temperance Brennan had set foot in her apartment.

Booth woke the morning after their confessions to find the keys to Brennan's apartment on his kitchen counter, along with a note.

_Here are the keys to my place. Everything in it is yours now. _

_-Brennan._

_I'm sorry. _

He raced to her apartment as soon as he found the keys, hoping he would find her still there. But by the time he arrived, she was long gone.

After a quick examination of her place, Booth discovered that she only took some of her clothes and toiletries. Everything else was left behind. All of it belonged to him now.

For the past three months, Booth went to Brennan's apartment every day. He cleaned the place weekly and left everything exactly as it was, giving the illusion that she was still there when you first walked in. After the first week, the pain of her leaving was so hard on him that Booth began sleeping there. At first it was just on the couch, until he discovered that her bed still smelled exactly like her. From then on, he would throw himself onto her bed and bury his head in her pillows and inhale her scent. For just a moment, it felt like she was still with him.

Her letter of resignation was sealed in a formal envelope atop Cam's desk the day after as well. After that, the Jeffersonian was assigned a new FBI liagson.

For the first two weeks, Booth made phone call after phone call to find out where Brennan had run off to. He had heard rumors about her being seen in New York and Montreal, but nothing was ever concrete. Exactly fourteen days after she left, Booth arrived home to find a message on his answering machine. He pressed play and waited.

_"Booth, stop looking for me. I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain. I don't need to cause you anymore. You'll be happier if I'm not around. I'm so sorry." _

After her message, Booth did stop looking for her. He didn't agree with her reasoning, but if she wanted to leave, then the decision was hers to make.

Angela, Cam, Hodgins. Every one of the squints had made numerous attempts to get in contact with him, but he ignored them all. One day he would tell them what happened that night. But that day was not going to be anytime soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer = First chapter. **

**Btw, reviews would be swell. **

_Dear Bones, _

_It's been three months since you've been gone. I know you meant well, but you're only hurting me worse by staying out of my life. I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me the night you left. You said that you can't love me fifty years from now, because you don't know how. Bones, I could teach you. I could teach you how. As long as you want to love me, then I could show you how to open up your heart. Please Bones, just come back to me. I'm a wreck without you here. _

_Booth_

Booth folded up the sheet of notebook paper and stuck it in a drawer, along with a hundred other letters that he had written her. All of them begged her to come home, and to try and work things out. He prayed that one day she would return, and he would be able to give her all of his letters, to show her that things could work out.

He had performed the same routine for the last two and a half months. He would wake up in the morning, shower, and then head over to her apartment. While he was there, he would wipe down all the surfaces, and make sure everything was in perfect condition. Then he would head to work, and sit behind his desk all day long with paperwork. After he was finished, he would swing by their favorite Thai restaurant and go back to her apartment and eat dinner. When dinner was through, he would just lay on her bed and stare at the ceiling and talk as if she were lying right next to him.

"Do you remember the time that we went undercover in Las Vegas as Tony and Roxy? You looked amazing in your dress. You look amazing in everything. Or that time we were undercover in the circus? You trusted me with those knives. You completely trusted me then. What happened? Why can't you trust me now?" Booth began to go on a rant of questions, each one remaining unanswered.

When he was done with this- and that was usually around midnight, sometimes later- he would clean up any mess that he had created, and drive back to his own apartment.

Sleeping wasn't much of an option for him anymore. All throughout the night he was plagued with nightmares of losing her. Sometimes there was just a dark hole that she fell through, and before he could reach out and save her, she would be gone. Other times he would be so close to kissing her, and then he would open his eyes and there would be nothing there but air. But the worst ones of all were of the night that they shared. He would kiss her fully on the lips, and tell her to give this a shot. And then she would reject him and kiss him on the cheek and leave. Everytime he saw her leave, his mind screamed at him to go after her, to pull her into his arms and convince her it would be okay. But everytime, he would stay stone still and watch as she walked out of his life.

* * *

He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't care if she told him not to look for her. His life wasn't going anywhere without her. Four months was too long without the person you loved. They could make it work, and he wasn't going to let her waste another second.

It started with a few phone calls, to see if she had worked any cases in the D.C. area lately. That came up negative. He tried a few cities out, some in Virginia and West Virginia. Again, the results were negative. Where was she? He didn't think it would be so easy for a world-renowned Forensic Anthropologist to disappear.

"Hi, this is Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI, I was calling to see if your department has been in touch with Dr. Temperance Brennan within the past four months." Booth spoke into the receiver. He was currently contacting the Raleigh-Durham Police Department in North Carolina. "Yes. Yes. No? Okay, well thank you for your time. If you happen to hear anything regarding her, please give me a call. Bye." He hung up the phone and shook his head in defeat. Raleigh. D.C. Richmond. Philadelphia. Nothing turned up. It was like she fell off the face of the planet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer = First chapter.**

**Reviews would seriously, seriously be appreciated. I need to know how I'm doing and if people are actually reading. **

She stepped into her apartment and threw her purse on a chair. It had been a long day. Two bodies found in a creek right outside of Charlotte. She had spent most of her day knee-high in muddy waters, trying to recover what was left of the corpses.

The message waiting button was violently flashing on her receiver, an indicator that someone hadn't been able to catch her during the day. She pressed the button and continued into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Hi Joy, it's Sam. I know you're busy, but I was going to see if you wanted to have a girl's night out and go get some drinks tonight? It's on me. Call me back, or just walk down to my apartment when you get home!"

"Joy, it's Eric. I wanted to get your opinion on some fossilized remains that were shipped in today. Call me back."

The answering machine let out a long beep to signify the end of her messages. Joy took a long gulp of her water and set down the glass as she walked into her bathroom and glanced in her mirror.

Her blonde curls hung down past her shoulders, and her green eyes stared vibrantly back at her. She blinked a few times as she felt a stinging feeling in her left eye.

"Stupid contact." She muttered as she reached up to examine her eye. As she moved the contact gently around, she could see flashes of blue as she exposed parts of her iris. After a few drops were inserted into her eye, she felt relief.

The clock read 6:34 as she walked into her bedroom. She flopped onto her bed and reached over to pick up her phone.

"Hey Sam. Yeah, I just got in. It was a long day today. What? Sam, you know I can't discuss ongoing cases with you. I know, you hate rules. Listen, I don't think I'm feeling the drinking vibe tonight. I know it's a Friday. I know Sam. I'll go out with you tomorrow night. I promise. Okay. Bye." Joy hung up her phone and tossed it to the other side of her bed. She hated cancelling plans with her friends, but she was so tired.

Ever since she had moved into her apartment, Joy had been busy. She got a job with the Kannapolis PD as part of the Body Recovery Team. When she wasn't working, she was out with Sam, her neighbor and closest thing to a best friend that she had right now. They would go get drinks, go to parties, or sometimes just sit around their apartments and watch stupid movies together.

Sam had a vibrant personality. She was always living on the edge, and she acted on impulse most of the time. She always had the best gossip, and she continually pressed Joy for information on her sex life. Joy thought Sam had a very familiar personality.

Then there was Lisa, who was the chief of the Body Recovery Team, as well as many other departments within the KPD. Joy had confided many important details to Lisa before her employment at the police department. Lisa knew Joy on a more personal level then the rest of Joy's co-workers. She knew why Joy had moved to North Carolina, and she knew what she was hiding.

Joy just prayed that Lisa would be the _only_ one to know these facts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer = First chapter!**

**No reviews = No more chapters. **

* * *

"Hey Joy, can you hand me the popcorn?" Sam asked as she channel surfed. Joy obliged and handed a giant green bowl filled with popcorn to her friend.

"What are we watching?" Joy asked as she grabbed a handful of the fluffly white snack and popped it into her mouth.

"A scary movie comes on at eleven. We still have a little while until then." Sam responded.

Since Joy had cancelled their drink plans the night before, they had agreed to have a girl's night-in and watch movies.

"Is it going to cause my adrenal glands to react violently?" Joy asked hesitantly.

Sam stared awkwardly at her before answering. "Sometimes you're so weird Joy." She answered. Joy blushed and shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

_"And tonight's last story: Dr. Temperance Brennan, world renowned Fornesic Anthropologist and author of several New York Times Bestseller's List novels, reportedly resigned from the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. four months ago. Her latest book, which was due early next year, is said to be put on hold for an unreported amount of time. The famous Anthropologist's current employer is unknown. When we made an attempt to contact Dr. Brennan, her publicist told us that she was not available. It is also rumored that her partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth, was removed as the official liagson for the Jeffersonian. We will bring you more on the mysterious turn of events in Dr. Brennan's career as we obtain more details. I'm Katrina Scheffield, and you're watching FOX Five." _

Joy felt the blood drain from her face as she watched the television in front of her. She saw pictures of an all-too familiar woman with auburn hair and blue eyes captivate the screen. As the story progressed, Joy thought she felt her heart stop completely when a picture of a brown-haired man flashed onto the screen. She stared into his chocolate eyes, and if for just a second, it felt like they were honestly staring at each other.

"...Booth." Joy whispered as she felt the tears well up in her eyes.

"What'd you say?" Sam asked as she glanced over at Joy. Her face was unusually pale. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Um, yes. Yes, I'm fine." Joy replied as she snapped back to reality. She flashed a fake smile at Sam and reached for another handful of popcorn.

"I love that Dr. Bren- whatever her name is. Her books are amazing." Sam stated as she continued to stare at Joy. "You know, you kind of look like her."

"I get that a lot." Joy replied quietly.

"Your face is shaped like hers. But your hair is blonde and totally longer than hers, and your eyes are really green. Plus, you have a really good tan." Sam explained as Joy pretended to listen.

It was true, she did have an uncanny resemblance to the famous Doctor. But as Sam said, Joy had long, curly, sun-kissed blonde hair. Her eyes were a deep green, and she had a dark tan all across her body. From a glance, she looked nothing like Temperance Brennan.

But if you looked at her closely, you could see who was hidden underneath it all.

* * *

He was drained. You could see it in his face, in his actions, in his work. He was exhausted all of the time. Dark circles were riddled underneath his eyes, and his former chocolate eyes were now just a tad above completely black.

Chasing after her like this, it wasn't healthy. He hated staying up late every night, hitting more dead ends. But he hated his life without her even more. He knew that one of those leads would turn to something. It just had to.

"Busy?" A voice asked from the door of his office.

"Who wants to kno--. Oh. Hey." Booth answered as he swiveled around in his chair to see who had decided to stop by. "Agent Perotta."

"You can call me Peyton." She replied as she took a seat in one of the chairs across from Booth.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm the new agent assigned to the Jeffersonian." She replied.

"Oh."

"Are you okay with that?" She asked.

"Why does it matter?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were totally done with them...." She said the last part quietly.

"They assigned you the job, right? Looks like I'm done." He replied sharply.

Agent Perotta stared at Booth for a few minutes before she spoke again.

"Booth, what happened?" She asked.

"None of your business. What happened is between me and Dr. Brennan." He answered. Agent Perotta opened her mouth to ask more, but Booth cut her off. "Don't you have a new assignment to get to?" He asked. Agent Perotta hesitated, then nodded and stood up to leave.

"I'm really sorry Booth." She said in sympathy.

"Yeah. Join the club." He replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Chapter One.**

**Reviews = More chapters.**

_Ange, _

_I know you're probably furious with me right now. I know how I felt when my family abandoned me and never bothered to tell me where they were, or if they were even still alive. I just wanted you to know that I'm alive. I'm doing okay. Really, I am. I miss you so much though. Please don't beg me to tell you where I am. It's too painful. If I see you in person, I'm more likely to come back home. The night that I left, Booth told me he wanted to give 'us' a shot. He wanted to be in a relationship with me. Ange, he kissed me. He didn't even hesitate; he just leaned in and did it. Then he explained how fifty years from now, he would be 'That guy who knew from the beginning that we would be in love.' I couldn't do it Angela. I couldn't begin a relationship with him. That's why I left. I got scared and ran. I know to you this is a foolish thing. But after I told him that I couldn't love him, he told me that he had to move on. I couldn't stand in the way of his happiness Ange. I had to leave so he could start over. But I'm in a decent place right now. I have a job, and the people are really friendly. My neighbor, Sam, is a lot like you. She always talks about men and sex, and she loves to gossip. Sometimes it feels like I'm almost back home when I'm around her. It feels like old times, when the two of us would sit in my apartment with snacks and beer and just talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. I really do miss you Angela. But like I said, I just can't tell you where I'm at right now. I can't take the chance of going back home. I'm sorry. _

_-Brennan_

Angela didn't bother to wipe away the tears that spilled down her cheek. She was crying out of relief, anger, and sadness. Relief that her best friend _was_ still alive and doing okay. Anger that she didn't contact her before now, and sadness because she didn't know where Brennan was or if she was ever coming home.

Angela exited out of her email account and turned to walk into Hodgin's office.

"Jack?" She asked quietly. Hodgins looked up and saw Angela's red face.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked to her.

"Brennan.." She whispered.

"Oh god." He replied.

"No, no. She-she sent me an email. She's okay. She's alive and living god know's where."

"What? Why? Did she say why she left?" He asked.

Angela considered whether or not to reveal this information to Hodgins. "No, but she's okay. That's all that matters right now."

* * *

"Joy, can you come into my office for a moment?" Lisa asked Joy as she walked past her in the Police Department.

"Sure." She answered.

A moment later the two of them were standing in Lisa's office with the door closed.

"I received a phone call this morning..." Lisa started. Joy sat down in a chair and waited for her to continue. "They're looking for you Tempe." She finished.

Joy's eyes widened as she took in a small breath.

"...Who?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Everyone back at your home. The lab at the Jeffersonian. Booth."

"What did the phone call say?" She asked.

"It was Booth. He was asking me if our department had recently been in contact with Dr. Temperance Brennan. He wants you home Temp."

"I... I can't go home Lisa. I can't do that to him. Plus, I'm not ready to face them. I don't know if I'll ever be ready." She told her.

"Okay. I'm not trying to run you off or anything. You have a job here as long as you need it. I just thought I'd let you know about it." Lisa explained. Joy nodded and turned to walk away. "But, if I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to give up on him Brennan." Lisa added.

* * *

Joy felt as if she was going to explode before she made it in her door. Once she heard the lock click behind her, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

She let a sob escape from her mouth that was almost too quiet to hear. The next one however, was not so quiet.

Tears flowed down her face as she collapsed onto her couch in a heap. She buried her head in the nearest pillow to stifle her screams. One by one they came, and each was longer and louder than the last. She was shaking so badly that she could hardly hold the pillow tightly. The tears and saliva began to soak through the velvet pillow and get onto her clothes.

She was crying for herself, and for all of the people she had left behind. Especially Booth.

_Especially _Booth.

She cried because she was too afraid of opening her heart up, and she cried because she knew she would never be able to find anyone better than Booth. He had wanted to give her everything, and in return she had spit it back at him and ran like the wind to a place none of them knew about. She had started a whole new life without him. The last five years of hard work had completely gone down the drain, because she was _too scared_.

Thirty minutes later, Joy found herself sitting in her kitchen floor, nursing a bottle of wine. After her breakdown, she needed to calm down and relax as best as she could. While she was sitting down, she heard her laptop go off.

_"You've got mail!" _

Joy stood up and made her way to her bedroom where her laptop was located. She flipped the top open and read the screen.

_One unread message._

Joy clicked on her inbox and waited for the message to load.

_Jesus Brennan, I had no idea what the hell had happened to you. You could've been dead for all we know. Booth only told us that you had left; he didn't go into detail about anything. And trust me, I begged him for details. _

_I'm mad at you, but I'm so happy that you finally got in touch with me that I'll be over the anger shortly. I miss you so much. I wish you would tell me where you were, but I know you don't want to. Are you ever coming home? Is this even your home anymore? Or have you created another home wherever you are? Everyone here is worried sick about you. They assigned a new FBI liagson to the Jeffersonian. Agent Perotta. Booth doesn't come around here anymore. Hell, I don't think he goes anywhere anymore. Sweetie, I know you were trying to do well by leaving and giving him room, but that's only hurt him even more. He's in so much pain without you, Bren. Don't you get it? He doesn't want to move on. He isn't going to, because you're the only person he wants. He loves you Brennan. And you know that. _

_I really miss you, and I want you to come back home. _

_Love, _

_Angela. _

Joy closed the lid of the laptop and closed her eyes. She had hurt so many people without meaning to. As her mind started to click together, she reached for her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

After the first two rings, a voice answered.

"Booth."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: First Chapter.**

**Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys like it a lot. I'm going to start getting writer's block soon, so I want everyone to review and tell me what you want to see happen! **

"Booth." She heard him answer.

The voice inside of Joy's head screamed at her to hang up.

She obliged. The phone snapped shut as she flipped it back down to it's original position. She tossed the phone across the room and walked into the bathroom to her medicine cabinet.

"Where are they...?" She muttered to herself as she began tossing bottles of aspirin and allergy medication behind her shoulder. "Aha." She exclaimed as she found the little blue bottle she was looking for. She opened up the container and spilled eleven tiny blue sleeping pills into her hand. She fumbled around for a glass of water and popped all eleven pills into her mouth. She swallowed them easily with one large gulp of water.

If she didn't have the guts to talk to him in real life, maybe she could do it in her dreams.

* * *

"Booth." He answered dully. There was no reply. He listened for a second, and still heard nothing. Before he opened his mouth again, the line went dead.

Booth stared at the phone for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and setting it back down on his desk. A moment later, it began ringing again.

"Booth!" He exclaimed. He could hear a small gasp come from the other end of the line.

"Uh, yes, hi. Special Agent Seeley Booth?" A female voice spoke softly.

"Yes, what can I help you with today?" He asked.

"Well, um, you've been recently making phone calls about Dr. Temperance Brennan?" She asked.

Booth felt his heartbeat begin to quicken; his adrenal glands were starting to kick in.

"Yes? Do you know something?" He asked hopefully.

"You see, I'm not really supposed to say anyth-" She was cut off.

"Please. If you or any of your people have been in contact with her, please tell me." He begged.

"Look, I can't tell you where she's at. But I think you should know that she's doing okay." The woman told Booth.

"Why can't you tell me where she's at?" He asked.

"Agent Booth, she is in a lot of emotional pain right now. But she has a decent job, and she lives in a good neighborhood. For the most part, she's doing pretty good. But whenever we speak, I can tell that she hurts. I can see the look in her eyes and I know that something is missing from her life. And I know that something is you. But I made a promise to her to not say anything to anybody. She just needs some time, Agent Booth. She'll come around eventually." The woman explained.

The line was quiet for a few seconds before Booth replied. "Who is this?"

Then the line was once again dead.

* * *

"Joy!" Sam yelled as she knocked loudly on her neighbor's door. It was two in the afternoon, and she wanted to go see a movie with her.

No one arrived at the door after a few minutes.

"Joy? Sweetie, can I come in?" Sam asked as she tried the door knob. It was unsurprisingly locked. Sam reached beside of Joy's door for the fake rock resting on her window. "I swear, these things couldn't fool a raccoon..." Sam muttered as she popped the key out from underneath the cheap piece of plastic.

Sam inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. She stepped into Joy's apartment and closed the door.

"Joy? Sweetie, it's Sam." She called out as she walked into the kitchen. An empty wine bottle was laying in the middle of the kitchen floor. Dishes were strewn out across the counters, and the faucet was on. As Sam continued into the living room, Joy's cell phone was laying in the middle of the floor. "Joy?" She called out, this time a worried tone evident in her voice. Pillows were thrown everywhere, and tissues riddled the ground in front of her.

Sam saw a light coming from Joy's bathroom. She felt a sense of relief as she started to walk towards it. "I swear sweetie, you take some of the longest shower-- Oh god." Sam whispered as she stood in the frame of the bathroom door.

Joy was lying in the middle of the bathroom floor, with a half empty bottle of sleeping pills still resting in her left hand. Her skin was unnaturally pale, and her blonde curls were matted to her head in a bath of sweat. Sam rushed to her crumpled form and immediately pressed two fingers to her wrist.

_Thump................._

_.............Thump...._

"Joy, honey, can you hear me? Joy!" Sam called out as she gently smoothed Joy's hair out of her face. She barely had a pulse. She needed to get to a hospital. Now.

Sam ran into the living room and grabbed Joy's cell phone. She frantically dialed 911 and ran back to the bathroom.

"Hello? I need an ambulance at 425 Sandover Road. I walked in and found my friend lying unconscious on her bathroom floor." Sam hesitated. "I think she tried to commit suicide."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: First chapter.**

**AN: Sorry it took a long time. The day after I published the last chapter, one of my friends actually committed suicide, so I haven't exactly been in the mood to write anything. Pray for her family. **

Sam watched helplessly as they wheeled Joy into the ambulance and closed the doors quickly. The sirens were blaring loudly as the emergency vehicle drove off towards the hospital.

The paramedics had asked more questions than they had given answers. How long she had been there, how much she had taken, if she had any allergies. Sam could provide no answers, only sobs, as they checked the pulse of her lifeless friend. Joy had no reaction, no twitch or slight voluntary movement as they placed her on the stretcher and wheeled her away.

Booth sat with his feet propped up on his desk, throwing a tennis ball against his wall repeatedly.

"Agent Booth?" A voice asked him. Booth made no movement at the sound of the voice.

"What do you want Sweets?" He asked in a monotone voice.

"Well, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute?"

"If I don't say yes now, you'll just corner me again tomorrow." Booth replied.

Sweets took that as an invitation to sit down on a chair in front of Booth and start talking.

"I know that you and Dr. Brennan had some very intimate words exchanged between the two of you-" Sweets ignored the death glare from Booth and continued speaking. "And I know that that's the reason she is no longer here. You told her how you felt, and she ran. You don't have to admit to it Booth; I already know. You told her that you wanted to give a relationship a chance, and she told you she could never be that type of person. She got scared and thought that you would be able to move on more easily if she was absent from your life. But, we all know, even Dr. Brennan, that that is incorrect. By her leaving, she made it harder on everyone to adjust. But Agent Booth, you have to be the one to bring her home. You have to do it." Sweets finished as he folded his hands together in his lap.

Booth said nothing as he stood up and walked out of the room.

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

Joy Keenan was hardly recognizable as she laid on the hospital bed. Tubes and wires were running back and forth around her entire body. Her skin was transparent, and the black circles under her eyes made her look like a phantom.

Her pulse had sped up to about 40 beats per minute since the paramedics arrived at her home. Her stomach had been pumped twice, and she had flatlined once. The doctors considered her lucky to be alive.

All of this continued to run through her mind as Sam sat in the chair gripping Joy's hand. She had been sitting there for approximately thirty minutes when a nurse entered through the door.

"Miss?" The nurse asked. Sam looked up and nodded.

"Yeah?"

"You said this patient's name was Joy Keenan?" The nurse asked politely.

"Yes ma'am."

The nurse paused for a moment before continuing. "There's not a record of a Joy Keenan that matches her description."

"Excuse me?" Sam asked.

"Do you have the patient's purse?"

Sam reached down beside of the bed and picked up the purse that she had grabbed off of Joy's counter as she was leaving for the hospital. She handed it to the nurse, who opened it and took out a wallet. Sam watched the nurse's face turn from confusion to shock.

"What? What is it?" She asked.

"A-are you sure this purse belongs to her?" The nurse asked.

"Yes. I'm positive."

"Oh, oh my. I'm sorry, but I have to step out-" The nurse said as she turned around. Sam grabbed her arm as she turned.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure where you got the name Joy Keenan from, but the woman lying in that bed is not her." The nurse explained.

"Excuse me?" Sam asked in confusion.

"The woman lying in that bed is Dr. Temperance Brennan."


End file.
